Barton Receives Bishko Prize for Mediterranean Research

The Association for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies has awarded History professor Thomas W. Barton the Bishko Prize for his article “Muslims in Christian Countrysides: Reassessing Exaricus Tenures in the Crown of Aragon,” which was published by the refereed journal Medieval Encounters in September 2011. The award is named after Charles Julian Bishko, an eminent scholar of medieval Spain who taught for many years at the University of Virginia, and recognizes the best article written by a North-American scholar on a medieval Iberian topic.

It was officially presented at the Association’s annual meeting held at Tufts University on March 22-25. The prize committee, chaired by Dr. Jeffrey Bowman of Kenyon College, noted that it “was particularly impressed by the rigor and nuance [Barton] brought to [this] examination of the social, political, and economic world of twelfth- and thirteenth-century Aragon.” The award is an honor to receive especially because, in the past, it has tended to be awarded to established scholars at research universities.  (Full Story)